Two men have been jailed for life for the murder of Perth man David Houston in May.

Jonathan Robert Lee, 23, and Samuel Jacob Walker, 26, were sentenced to life in prison, and will not be eligible for parole for 12 years.

The body of David Houston, 26, was found in a shallow grave outside Bunbury, in WA's South West, on June 2 - three weeks after he was murdered in Walker's family home in South Fremantle.

Mr Houston was found with four pieces of material around his neck, and trauma to his body and face, and a post-mortem revealed compression to his neck was the cause of his death.

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In handing down his sentence in the Supreme Court of WA on Wednesday, Justice Eric Heenan described the circumstances of the murder as "grave" and "shocking".

He said both Walker and Lee had lived a trouble life, and both were deeply involved in drug culture. He said both men were equally culpable in the murder.

"This case is obviously a terrible crime committed in the throes of an orgy of drug abuse," Justice Heenan said.

He described Mr Houston as a vulnerable victim who was drug-affected, attacked suddenly and outnumbered.

"He certainly did not deserve to be assaulted and certainly not murdered," he said.

Justice Heenan said despite Houston's "imperfections" he was still "a greatly loved son".

Walker's family wept at the back of the courtroom when the sentence was read out on Wednesday.

How it unfolded

Walker and Lee pleaded guilty to Mr Houston's murder in the Supreme Court of WA on December 12.

Walker, who initiated the attack, had only known Mr Houston for a few weeks through drug connections, but had known Mr Houston's girlfriend through his family for years, and was "very fond of her", Walker's lawyer Linda Black said.

Lee and his girlfriend at the time, referred to as 'Ms K' were smoking drugs with Walker and Mr Houston before the attack when Walker turned to Ms K and told her "I'm going to kill David," prosecutor James MacTaggart told the court on December 12.

Walker had placed a white shoelace around Ms K's neck and asked whether she thought "it will work" shortly before he attacked Mr Houston with a cable, Mr MacTaggart said

Lee and Ms K were in the bathroom when they heard Mr Houston's screams and ran out to find Walker strangling him, the court heard.

Lee went to Walker's aid by repeatedly kicking Mr Houston to the head and face – something he has no explanation for, his lawyer told the court.

In a written statement read out in court, Lee spoke of how he will never really know why he participated in the murder and disposal of Mr Houston's body.

Believing Mr Houston was dead, Walker and Lee had placed his body in the bath and started running water over it.

Mr Houston made a loud gasp when he awoke and the two men continued their assault on him, Mr MacTaggart said.

Walker hired a utility vehicle from Bunnings to dispose of Mr Houston's body, which he and Lee had "bundled" into a BBQ cover, the court heard.